


Someone, Somewhere

by dragonwrangler



Series: Book of Tales [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-26
Updated: 2013-01-10
Packaged: 2017-11-24 08:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/632629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwrangler/pseuds/dragonwrangler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The final duel is about to be fought, and Seto Kaiba needs to decide how far he will go to save his soul.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: This was inspired by the Summer Song Spinner challenge at Pharaoh's Palace (and obviously I didn't make the deadline), and is part of my 'Book of Tales' series.

_Somewhere there is some place, that one million eyes can't see/ And somewhere there is someone, who can see what I can see_  
Excerpt from "Someone, Somewhere in Summertime" by Simple Minds

Chapter One

Golden skin, flashes of crimson, a struggle for position and a soft sigh. Lips warm and demanding; bodies moving in familiar rhythms; a growl of need. Tight slick heat, muscles flexing, a voice crying out in ecstasy…

_"Seth!"_

Seto Kaiba snapped awake, disoriented by the sound of his own harsh breathing. He groaned and fell back, grimacing when the present day asserted itself through the sudden annoying buzz of an alarm clock. Seto slapped the alarm into submission then stared at the ceiling.

The vision had been so vivid that Seto was having trouble reconciling it with where he was now. What he had seen had happened in a life that was not his own and had simply been triggered by the sight of the airline reservations Solomon Motou had made yesterday. Seto had hardly been surprised by the reservations; now that Atemu had regained all his memories, it was time for him to pass on into the afterlife to insure the dark god, Zorc Necrophades, remained locked away forever.

There would be no goodbyes. He knew what was coming, and was in complete agreement with Seth— the spirit that had been held within the Millennium Rod and the one whose life was currently intruding on his own. They would not add to Atemu's burden by trying to see him one last time. Seth had gotten the second chance he had been promised, and Seto wasn't about to ask Atemu to stay for such a selfish reason as love. Pharaoh was bound by duty, and duty was something Seto understood all too well. The Rod had been returned to Atemu, and the final prophecy would be fulfilled, and Seto would go back to the life he'd had before all this nonsense had screwed it up.

Seto shifted and realized he was still hard from the vision. He reached down and quickly stroked himself off, shuddering as he came, and then lay spent and empty, watching the morning light stretch across the ceiling as he silently cursed those who had cast the sealing spell on Atemu in the first place.

* * *

By the time Mokuba had come to his room to tell him the limo had arrived to take them to Kaiba Corp headquarters, Seto was dressed and more than ready to leave. The sunlight that had filled the room had faded, washed away by a steady grey downpour. The rain suited Seto's mood perfectly. He could tell, by the way Mokuba watched him as they rode into the city, that he suspected something was up. Seto ignored him. There was no reason to burden Mokuba with his problem, Mokuba would only try to stop what had to be and when he failed, would blame himself for the rest of his life for Seto's unhappiness. Seto was not about to let that happen. So instead of talking to Mokuba, he spent the ride typing up a rough draft of changes he wanted to make to the Duel Disks and attempted to block out the fact that Atemu had left for Egypt two hours earlier.

As he walked across the lobby outside his office, his mind turning over the best possible ways to test the prototype when it was built, Seto was convinced he had everything under control.

He was wrong.

"High Priest."

Seto stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the female elf standing in the middle of his office— the one who had created the spell that had locked Atemu's spirit in the Millennium Puzzle five millennia ago. He staggered slightly when Mokuba bumped into him, then recovered and noticed the other two figures in the room.

Fury choked him as he stared at his three unwanted guests.

_Mystical Elf, Celtic Guardian, Dark Magician._

_Ciorstag, Gaighdon, Mahado._

Seto would not have known Ciorstag and Gaighdon names if it had not been for Seth's memories of them. Neither elf quite matched the artwork on the cards they were tied to; Ciorstag's skin only had hints of blue, and Gaighdon— though still wide across the shoulders— was considerably leaner than the illustration Pegasus had painted of him. Only Mahado matched his card, though all three were currently dressed in sensible clothing instead of their more outrageous Duel Monster costumes.

Mokuba leaned around him and looked into the room, a quizzical expression crossing his face. "Uh, big brother? Why are there Duel Monsters standing in your office?"

Instead of responding to Mokuba's question, and ignoring the sudden flare of emotions from Seth— who had remained stuck in Seto's head despite the fact the Rod was probably halfway to Egypt by now— Seto stepped up to the female elf. He leaned into her personal space as he fingered the Blue-eyes White Dragon card in his coat pocket. "Get the fuck out of my office," he hissed through clenched teeth, "before I send you out through the window, Ciorstag."

The woman raised an eyebrow, looking less than impressed by his anger as she crossed her arms and met his gaze. "Well, good to see you too, Seto Kaiba," she said in a voice that held both warning and reprimand.

Seto sensed Gaighdon and Mahado moving forward, but was too pissed to care as he pulled the card out of his pocket, took a step back, and shouted, "Blue-eyes White Drag—"

Ciorstag rolled her eyes. "Exchange!" Seto snarled as his card appeared in Ciorstag's hand. She tucked the card into her belt as she commented, "You really need to shorten that summon command for it to be effective off the dueling field, Seto."

Furious, Seto took a swing at Ciorstag, only to have Gaighdon grab his wrist before he could connect. Expecting that, Kaiba twisted his arm, pulling the elf closer so he could flip him over his hip. Unfortunately, Gaighdon's stance proved too solid for a clean throw and they both ended up hitting the floor together. Seto quickly rolled away and pushed himself to his knees, managing to land a satisfying right hook before Gaighdon could get his arms up to defend himself.

"Oh for Danna's sake," he heard Ciorstag mutter, "Mirror Force!"

Checking his follow-up swing as a shimmering wall appeared between him and Gaighdon; Seto surged to his feet and shouted, "Would you all just get the fuck out of my life!"

"Not until we've fulfilled the promise we made to Seth." Seto glared down at Gaighdon as the elf rose to his feet and rubbed at the blood dripping from his nose. Meeting Seto's glare, he sighed then added, "Or has he forgotten our promise to him after all this time?"

"He already got his second chance," Seto snapped. "Why are you here?"

"Maybe we're here to give you your chance," Ciorstag said.

Seto's hands clenched into fists. "I've already made my choice, I—"

"Have you become such a coward that you are unwilling to risk your heart for him, Seto Kaiba?" Mahado asked softly behind him.

Seto didn't even think. He turned and swung at Mahado, then stopped with his arm at full extension. He could sense Seth's annoyance with his loss of control as he frowned at the sight before him.

Mahado shrugged, obviously unaffected by the fact that Seto's arm was currently sticking right through him. "The events of the last month have not changed the fact that I'm still dead in this world," the magician said. Seto let his arm drop to his side as he studied Mahado's face. The magician stared calmly back, though Seto could see the frustration and hope warring within the Dark Magician's blue eyes; a war that echoed the roiling emotions he was getting from Seth.

Pulling his anger under control, Seto asked, "I'm more than willing to risk my heart, but of what use is it to either of us if I did?"

"We hoped you'd be willing to risk it one more time. I made a serious miscalculation in the spell I cast on Pharaoh five millennia ago," Ciorstag said.

Seto looked over his shoulder. "You miscalculated. So? What has that got to do with me?"

"The spell I cast was flawed; I failed to take the Thief King into account when I sealed Pharaoh's soul into the Puzzle."

"That doesn't tell me a damn thing!"

"We had no choice but to seal Pharaoh's soul away," Gaighdon explained. "He had drawn Zorc into himself to save Seth's soul but didn't have the strength to contain him as long as he was tethered to a mortal vessel. When we agreed to bind Pharaoh's soul to the Millennium Puzzle to stop Zorc and to keep him from using Pharaoh to destroy the world, we did so assuming that all the pieces of the dark lord the Thief King had carried had been absorbed back into Zorc and was being held under Pharaoh's will at the time of the sealing. We were wrong."

Ciorstag nodded. "When Zorc manifested himself in the Memory World to make his final move, he he did so by pulling all aspects of himself out of the vessels that had held him for the last five thousand years including the part that had not been bound to Pharaoh and the Puzzle. It freed Atemu and the Thief King of Zorc's influence. We can now seal the dark lord away forever without having to rebind Atemu's, or anyone else's soul to him."

"I can't help you cast that spell. I'm not Seth." He gave Ciorstag a suspicious look. "And that whole mess with the Memory World happened over a week ago; why have you waiting until now to cast this spell of yours?"

"The old spell continues to tie Atemu to the dark lord. When he is released from the spell that ties him to the Millennium Puzzle—the keystone to the sealing spell— the old spell will be dissolved and the new spell can be put in place."

"That is the second chance that we offered Seth five millennia ago— that Atemu's soul would eventually be freed forever from the Puzzle," Gaighdon said.

Hope flared briefly in Seto's chest, and then died just as quickly. "It doesn't matter. Even if that's true, Atemu won't allow himself to stay bound to Yugi just to remain in this world."

"That problem is an easy one to solve," Mahado said as he walked over to stand beside Ciorstag. When Seto met his gaze, he continued speaking. "Pharaoh never physically died—because of the sealing spell his body was simply absorbed into the Shadow Realms when his soul was separated from his body."

"That is correct," Ciorstag said. She then grimaced. "Atemu however may believe that the only way to insure Zorc stays locked away is to sacrifice himself again, and there's nothing we can do to stop him if he goes down that path. His powers have grown far beyond our own."

Seto knew there was something he was missing. "What, you need me to talk him out of this duel with Yugi?"

"No. Atemu needs to break the bonds that tie him to the Millennium Puzzle and that can only happen when he is defeated by the one who reassembled the Puzzle," Ciorstag said.

"Then what the fuck do you need me for?"

"We cannot bind Atemu's soul to his body until the bond is broken," Gaighdon said. "Since they must duel to break the bond, and because of the nature of this duel, we ourselves will be called into play. We will need time to recover—"

"And you need me to create a distraction to make sure you have that time."

"Yes," Ciorstag said, nodding her head. "That is what we need you for."

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"I'm sure between you and Seth you'll be able to come up with something to keep Pharaoh from stepping over into the afterlife," Mahado said. Seth responded to the challenge in Mahado's voice by offering up an image of what might work.

Seto just shook his head in exasperation and glared at the knowing smirk that appeared on Mahado's face. The annoying thing was, the idea Seth had suggested was stupid enough to work. Still…

"What will happen to me if I can't stop him?" Seto asked.

Ciorstag drew in a breath and slowly let it out before answering, "I think you know the answer to that one, Seto Kaiba."

Seto looked away from the elf. Yes, he did know the answer to that one. If he agreed to this he'd be playing to win; if he lost, he'd lose everything.

Mokuba took a step forward. "So, wait, are you saying you can give Atemu a body of his own?"

Ciorstag nodded and Mokuba smiled in delight as he looked up at Seto. "That's great! That means the two of you can finally be together!"

Seto's heart lurched in his chest as he stared at Mokuba. Despair filled him as he realized he was trapped between his love for Atemu and his love for Mokuba. To save one, he had to risk the other, and that was something Seto could not do. Seth's presence, now a mix of sorrow and acceptance, receded without question as Seto turned to Ciorstag and said, "I can't help you."

"Seto! You can't—"

Looking down at Mokuba, Seto shook his head and snapped, "I can, and I will." He turned away and started walking out of his office. "I won't risk Mokuba. My decision is final," he said, even as he felt a piece of his soul begin to shrivel and die.

Mokuba grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. "No you don't. You can't walk away from this! You're going to do this even if it means I have to tie you up and drag you to Egypt myself."

Seto was about to yank his arm out of Mokuba's grip, when he caught what Mokuba had said. Frowning, he asked, "How did you know they wanted me to go to Egypt, Mokuba?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Where else would it be?" He then gave Seto an exasperated look. "And what, you didn't think I'd notice the program you've had running to see if Mr. Motou made any airline reservation? Oh please, I know how you think. There had to be a reason you haven't seen Atemu since you all got back from whatever it was that happened in Egypt and I'm guessing this is it, isn't it?"

"Mokuba—"

"What makes you think you'll be of any use to your brother once Atemu passes into the afterlife anyway, Seto Kaiba?" Ciorstag pointed out.

Seto stared at Ciorstag, and felt his despair grow deeper as he realized she was right. He was simply in denial right now and that wasn't going to last. When he did accept that Atemu was gone, his soul was going to slowly die, leaving him nothing more than a burden that Mokuba would be unable to leave behind.

He couldn't risk Mokuba's safety or his future. Maybe there was another way…

Taking a deep breath, Seto stepped over to stand in front of Ciorstag. "If this doesn't work," he said as he locked gazes with her, "you need to give me your word you'll take care of Mokuba for me."

He heard Mokuba's loud protest that this would work and they wouldn't have to take care of anyone, but Seto refused to look away from Ciorstag. He knew if he did risk his heart again— and failed— there would be no way for him to recover from that loss, no matter how much he loved Mokuba.

Ciorstag gave him a gentle smile of understanding. Seto allowed himself a moment of relief, until Ciorstag said, "No." Seto opened his mouth to protest, but Ciorstag cut him off. "No. It's all or nothing Seto."

"I'm not going to risk Mokuba—"

"Do you really think we can stop him from following you into the afterlife if you lose?" Gaighdon asked reasonably.

"Yeah, what he said," Mokuba stated. He crossed his arms and glared up at Seto. "You're not going to leave me behind, big brother. Someone has to keep an eye on you."

Seto teetered on the edge of hope and despair as Ciorstag rested a hand lightly on top of Mokuba's head and smiled down at him. She then looked at Seto. "Do we have a deal, Seto Kaiba?" she asked in a voice that was calm and serene.

Seto stared at Ciorstag for a moment, and then nodded once, sealing his fate.

"We have a deal."

* * *

Seto strode across the tarmac to the gleaming bulk of the BEWD jet. The rain had moved to the south and the air was beginning to heat up under an early summer sun. Mokuba was already in the copilot's seat, and as Seto dropped into place, he almost gave in to the temptation to call the whole thing off. But his soul was bound to Atemu's just as tightly as it was to Mokuba's; Ciorstag had been right when she had said 'It's all or nothing.' Either Atemu joined them in this world, or they all went into the afterlife together. He had simply been unwilling to accept that fact until that moment.

"Almost done with the preflight checklist," Mokuba said.

Seto nodded and strapped himself in. As he brought the engines online, he heard Mokuba ask, "You really care a lot for Atemu, don't you?"

Seto sighed. Mokuba had figured out a lot of what had been going on between him and Atemu— hell, it had been Mokuba who had maneuvered the two of them together in the first place— but Seto had never told him the entire story.

As the BEWD jet climbed into the sky, Seto— with a little help from Seth— told Mokuba everything.


	2. Chapter 2

_I lost._

Atemu blinked as the statement rolled through his mind. He was having trouble deciding what he should be feeling— wonder or loss or fear— as the last traces of the battle faded, leaving nothing to block his view of Yugi.

He swayed slightly as the bond tying him to Yugi began to unravel.

_I lost._

He watched Yugi slowly fall to his knees on the marble floor, watched his partner fall and doubled over, shoulders trembling with the effort to hold in his emotions. Beyond Yugi Atemu could see their friends; Anzu, her eyes wide and sorrowful as she pressed her hands to her lips; Otogi and Honda shifting uncomforting as each of their gazes dropped to the floor; Jonouchi standing stiffly, looking proud and sad at the same time. Beyond them the last of the Tomb Keepers, Marik and Ishizu Ishtar along with their adopted brother Rishid, observed but hid whatever emotions they were feeling as their service—a service that had bound their family to Atemu for five thousand years years—finally came to an end.

Atemu did not allow himself to hope for a sign of the one person he would have liked to have seen one last time before crossing over to the afterlife.

Yugi's pain drew Atemu away from his thoughts and back to the dueling platform. Crossing it, Atemu gently rested a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Please," he said, moving the hand to Yugi's cheek, "there is no reason to shed tears for me partner."

Yugi's breathing hitched as he tried to bring his emotions under control. "I know, I know, I'm sorry but I can't—" He shook his head and tried to look away. "I'm trying to be strong, but I'm not. I'm…"

Kneeling, Atemu rested his forehead again Yugi's and whispered, "You are not weak. You've always had a strength within you that was stronger than mine." He pulled back and tilted Yugi's head up to look Yugi in the eye.

Yugi sniffed. "Other me…"

"No." He shook his head and smiled. "Not the other you. You are no one but yourself now, as it should be, as it was meant to be." He rubbed a tear off of Yugi's face with his thumb as he added softly, "And I need your strength to face this one last challenge, King of Games."

Yugi swallowed then nodded. "Okay." Yugi removed the duel disk from his arm and carefully set it on the floor. Looking up, he raised an eyebrow as the duel disk on Atemu's arm shimmered then disappeared.

"Not the other me?" Yugi asked, a sad smile pulling at his lips.

"Well, maybe for a few moments longer," Atemu answered as he reached out and pulled Yugi to his feet. He smiled once again at Yugi then turned to face the tall doors that had appeared when the duel had begun. At the center of the door, the Eye of Wedju began to glow.

"For five thousand years," Ishizu said behind them, her voice steady as she spoke the ritual words and Atemu wondered briefly if she thought she'd ever have the chance to say them out loud, "the Eye of Wedju, the guardian to the door of the underworld, has waited to receive the name of that which had been lost. To the Eye we give the name of the great Pharaoh, to the Eye we give the name of Pharaoh's soul.

"To the Eye we give Atemu."

The doors opened and a blinding light poured out from the widening crack. Atemu staggered, a gasp slipping out as the bond linking him to Yugi snapped completely and the sudden weight of his own body encasing his soul pulled him towards the ground.

He was himself, he was alone once again, and his mind reeled over what he had lost.

A hand grabbed his arm and stabilized him. He turned to look into violet eyes, unable to feel what Yugi was feeling.

"Atemu?" Yugi said.

Nodding, Atemu straightened. "Yes," he said, "I am Atemu." They stared at one another, then Yugi, reluctantly, stepped away. Atemu tried to speak but there were no words to express what he wanted to say. Yugi pursed his lips and nodded his head towards the light. It was impossible to tell if the tears Yugi was trying to blink away now were because of the light or his emotions. Blinking rapidly to clear his own eyes as he turned towards the door, Atemu suspected it was a little of both.

As his eyesight acclimated to the light, a white clad figure slowly became visible. Atemu started to take a step towards it but froze when he recognized who was coming out to meet him.

"Mahado."

"Pharaoh."

Atemu looked away from the man, one of the first of so, so many to sacrifice themselves for him.

"I'm—"

"There is no need to apologize. It was my choice to make."

Atemu nodded his head and struggled to speak past the sudden lump lodged in his throat as he took a step towards his old friend. The stone beneath his feet began to soften and shift like sand. As he took another step closer to Mahado he could tell the magician was struggling to speak but then a look of surprise crossed Mahado's face as he turned to look behind him.

Though it was still difficult see far through the door, Atemu could smell bread baking and meat being cooked; he could smell the desert and the river Nile; and he could smell melted wax and warm linen and the sharp clean smell of natron. He closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them, he found Ammit and a woman he did not recognize standing next to a perplexed Mahado and blocking his way through the door.

As if catching himself staring, Mahado gave a start and began dropping to his knee until the woman—dressed in armor similar to Gaighdon's but with a sword strapped to her waist that made Atemu think of dragons—gave the sky a long suffering look and said, "We've already discussed this matter with you and your guardian, young druid. I am not a goddess and to me there is no reason to kneel."

Mahado paused and looked up at the woman. He then looked at Ammit.

The demon settled back on her leathery haunches and braced her feline forelegs against the ground as she dipped her head to look Mahado in the eye. "Yes, to me you may kneel if you feel the need, child," she said; the teeth in her long crocodile muzzle flashing with each word she spoke. "It would be better if you could remember you can call on us for help instead. We do still listen to the call of our acolytes. It would save us all a lot of trouble," She then turned to Atemu and added, "Speaking of trouble, Pharaoh; you may wish to turn around." Ammit tilted her head to the side as she focused on something behind him. "The choice that is approaching you could prove to be a touch painful if you do not."

Puzzled, Atemu turned just as someone tackled him to the ground. Strong arms pinned him to the floor and warm lips pressed against his own, sucking the breath from him.

For a few seconds, he struggled against his attacker, but his body seemed more interested in other things and he soon stopped struggling in favor of returning the kiss that was smothering him.

"I sometimes wonder about those two," Atemu heard Ammit say. There was a snort of amusement from the demon as her presence faded. As it did, Atemu's hands started tugging at Seto's belt. He was distantly aware of footsteps near his head then someone cleared their throat. Seto abruptly broke the kiss and Atemu jerked his head back in surprise, hitting the back of his head against the floor as Seto twisted around to shoot a glare up at Yugi and Mokuba.

"What?" Seto snapped. "I'm busy; or hadn't you noticed?"

Yugi stared at him a moment, then said in a strained voice, "Yeah, okay, I see that, but do you mind not doing what you're doing to him until I get back to the hotel cause…" Yugi sucked in a breath then bent down to hiss quickly at the scowling dark-haired duelist, "I'm gonna need some serious private time if you two are gonna keep this up."

Mokuba elbowed Yugi. "You can borrow Seto's coat till you get there if you want," he said in a loud stage whisper.

A surprised expression crossed Yugi's face as he looked at the younger Kaiba. "Is that why he wears those things?" he said after a few seconds.

"To hide the effect Atemu has on him? Sometimes, yeah," Mokuba answered with a grin.

"Mokuba!"

Mokuba gave his brother a tolerant look. "What? It's true." He crossed his arms. "I dare you to tell me I'm wrong about that, big brother."

Seto frowned then glared down at Atemu. "You two are still linked?" he asked.

Atemu blinked then turned his attention inward, quickly finding the reformed bond. It hummed at the edge of his senses, familiar and reassuring. It was also different and Atemu could see how he could dial it down without causing any harm to Yugi. He couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face.

"It appears that we are, in a way," he said, wonderingly. He gave Yugi an apologetic look. "Sorry partner, I was unaware that had happened. I was a little, um, preoccupied?"

Yugi shook his head and gave him a fond but exasperated look.

"That's not how this was supposed to work," Seto growled.

"Wait a minute!" Ryou suddenly shouted. Atemu and Seto both looked at the white haired duelist as he started marching towards them. "Pharaoh loses and he gets a body as a consolation prize? What the fuck's up with—" Ryou choked on his next word and stopped, one hand pointing at them while the other rose up to slap over his mouth. As everyone stared at him, Ryou drew a deep quick breath through his nose, huffed it out, then drew in another; his face turning red as his eyes unfocused.

It took several seconds for Ryou to regain control over the spirit of the Thief King that shared his body and then he said "Sorry," in a tight voice as he dropped both hands to his sides. "It won't happen again."

There was a moment of silence following that announcement then Anzu muttered, "Uh, okay." She looked at Atemu and Seto, blushed, then spun around on her heels and started for the stairs. "I think it's time we left," she announce to everyone in the room.

"Why?" Jonouchi asked with a wave of a hand. "It's just getting good!" There was a dull thump as Anzu, in a smooth, graceful twirl of her body, changed direction and whacked Jonouchi on the back of the head. "What?" Jonouchi exclaimed before being reduced to, "Ow, ow, ow, Anzu, that's my ear!" as she grabbed him and dragged him along after her.

Atemu chuckled as he watched the exchange. Seto just rolled his eyes.

There was the sound of shifting feet somewhere out of Atemu's line of sight then Otogi whispered a little too loudly, "Can either of you two take videos with your cell phone?" Seto twisted around to glare at the dark haired entrepreneur.

Atemu could just see Ryou shaking his head as he turned to follow Anzu and Jonouchi. "Uh, no, you're on your own there," Ryou said then muttered, "I'd rather not give Bakura any more ideas right now, thank you very much."

Honda nodded and trailed after Bakura, adding, "Yeah, what he said."

Otogi threw his arms out as he jogged after the two. "Oh, come on, we'd make a mint if we put them on YouTube!"

Seto turned and stared at Atemu. "Explain to me why they're your friends again?"

Yugi dropped into a sitting position and rubbed his forehead. "I sometimes wonder." Atemu just closed his eyes and laughed.

A sudden burst of magic snapped Atemu's eyes back open. He found himself looking up at Mystical Elf, who was staring down at him and Seto with a mixture of astonishment and annoyance on her face.

"That was your plan?" Ciorstag exclaimed. She glared at Seto then swung around to look at Gaighdon—still dressed as the Celtic Guardian— standing right behind her. She pointed at Seto and snapped, "You knew he was going to do that, didn't you?"

"Of course I did."

A suspicious look crossed Seto's face. "How?" he asked.

Gaighdon shrugged as he met Seto's gaze. "I was the one who taught Mahado the silencing spell that he used whenever Seth visited Pharaoh's bedchamber to help distract him from his burdens. I assumed you would use a similar approach as Seth. The two of you are amazingly consistent in your interactions with Atemu." Seto gave a huff of annoyance and rolled to a sitting position. The expression on his face made it clear that he was having a few words with Seth.

Atemu took the hand Gaighdon held out to him and let the elf pull him to his feet. He grinned. Gaighdon smiled back.

"It was, after all, the quickest way to distract you, Pharaoh" he said.

"It was a good plan. Thank you for your assistance," Atemu said.

Ciorstag rolled her eyes. "Goddess, protect me from fools," she muttered as she turned away and walked over to the Ishtars.


	3. Chapter 3

Marik narrowed his eyes as Mystical Elf approached them. He had accepted long ago the fact Duel Monsters were real but he was still finding it hard to accept the fact there were several of them moving around the sacred Chamber without having been summoned to battle.

There was a click as the doors leading to the afterworld closed forever and Marik groaned into the darkness that followed.

"Someone mind turning the lights back on," Seto Kaiba groused. His face appeared; tinged blue by the light of his smart phone. Marik watched him lean over to pull Pharaoh to his feet. Pharaoh swayed a little once he was upright. Kaiba gave him a concerned look. There was a shake of the head and a smile. Kaiba let go and, when Pharaoh did not fall right back down to the ground, he looked at Mystical Elf. She snapped her fingers. Torches flared into life throughout the Chamber.

Marik glanced at his sister. He could tell from the slump of her shoulders that she too had come to the same conclusion as he had at the closing of the doors— that their duty may never come to an end.

It had been the duty of the Tomb Keepers to hold and protect the memories of the unnamed Pharaoh; to return those memories—memories that had been carved into Marik's back when he was a child— when Pharaoh regained his name and to assist him into the afterlife where he would finally be able to lock away forever the evil that was Zorc Necrophades. And now, after five thousand years, Pharaoh had regained his name, a new body— and now stood on the wrong side of the doors of the afterlife.

Anger curled in Marik's chest. _It's not fair!_

When he turned his attention back to Mystical Elf, he found she had changed. Instead of wearing the elaborate headdress and robes that she was depicted in on her card, she was now dressed in a simple tunic and leggings and there were a pair of well worn boots covering her feet. Her skin only had a touch of blue and though her ears still flowed up to a point at the top, they were not as obvious as they had been before.

A staff had appeared in her hand at some point and she tapped the metal shod end against the stone floor as she stopped in front of his sister Ishizu. The ring of metal against stone echoed for longer than was natural.

The scars on Marik's back itched.

"Your duty is not yet done, priestess," the elf said.

Ishizu stiffened and her hand drifted up to the Millennium Torc encircling her neck. Eyes' narrowing in what Marik could only assume was anger at the interruption of her duty to bring peace to Pharaoh's soul, Ishizu said, "No, it is not." There was a flare of magic, the eye carved into the front of the Torc glittering beneath Ishizu's fingers; and then Ishizu was staggering backwards, her eyes widening in shock. Marik raised an eyebrow and started towards his sister but she waved him back without looking in his direction.

Fingers gripping the eye of the Torc, Ishizu whispered, "Who are you?"

"I am the màileachan naomh," the elf said without hesitation in the ancient language. "I am the spell-caster and the hunter in the Shadows. I am the keeper of secrets and the guardian of the light." The elf paused, tilted her head to the side for a few seconds in thought, and then shrugged and switched back to contemporary speech. "There are other names I have been called but I would guess one of those titles will answer your question."

Marik stared at her then at his sister. Ishizu blinked. "Yes, it does," she said, stunned. "Thank you."

"Good." She gestured with her staff at the tablet that held all but two of the Millennium Items—the Torc Ishizu wore, and the Puzzle that Yugi still possessed. "It is time to finish this."

"How?" Marik snarled, his anger ticking up once more as his surprise at meeting the legendary spell caster who had sealed the Pharaoh's soul into the Millennium Puzzle faded away. "We knew what needed to be done! But you—" He stabbed a finger at the elf. "You decided to change the rules! You've cursed us all!"

"Marik!" Ishizu shouted. Marik kept himself from lashing out at her with the magic that was building up around him when Rishid pulled her back.

Mystical Elf seemed unimpressed by the power he was pulling into existence. "I changed nothing," she said. "What happened to you was never part of your duty."

The scars on his back burned and Marik cried out and lunged at the elf. He heard Rishid and Ishizu yelling his name as he drew his hand back but before he could gather the magic to throw at the woman in a devastating blast, she had moved. She was within his defenses in a blink of the eyes, pressing two fingers against his forehead as she chanted something in a language he did not recognized.

It was as if he'd struck a wall of Mirror Force. He reeled back, his body arcing as energy shot through him from the contact on his forehead on down to his feet. For a moment his senses whited out then he was sitting on the floor with the elf kneeling in front of him. Behind her on one side he could see his sister looking back and forth between him and the elf and on the other Pharaoh doing the same.

"Ciorstag?" Pharaoh asked.

"Yes?" the elf answered as she continued to stare into Marik's eyes. Meeting that gaze, Marik found he did not have the ability to break away from it.

"What did you do?" Pharaoh asked carefully.

"I severed his link to the Millennium Rod."

"Ah, is that what that was," Seto Kaiba said in a pained voice. He sounded somewhat pissed to Marik's dazed brain.

"I gave up the Rod," Marik pointed out.

"Yes, you did," the elf answered, "but your bloodline has been in contact with it for thousands of years; the connection was as much a part of you as those scars on your back were."

It took a second for Marik to comprehend what the elf was saying then Ishizu vocalized the first thing that popped into his head, "As much a part as those scars were?"

Ciorstag broke eye contact and Marik immediately twisted as he tried to look over his shoulder at his back. "The Pharaoh has his memories back so the scars are no longer necessary." Marik frowned as he reached behind him and felt a smooth line where the bottom of the raised, scarred skin has started.

"The marks of those memories still remain— it is not possible for me to remove their touch completely—but they will no longer bother you the way they have in the past," the elf said as she rose to her feet. "The other scars that remain I cannot touch; they are yours and yours alone to deal with."

Marik did not know if he should thank the elf or not. Obviously the elf expected no thanks as she turned away and walked over to the tablet holding the Millennium Items. "Ishizu Ishtar," she said. "Yugi Motou."

Both of them started at the sound of their names then they walked over to where Ciorstag was standing; Ishizu giving him a searching look before joining Yugi and the elf. Rishid reached down and helped Marik to his feet as he asked in a quick undertone, "Are you alright, brother?"

"Yes," he said, much to his surprise, "yes, brother; I am." He felt burned clean and empty. He felt new. Marik gave Rishid a startled smile then walked over to where her sister stood and gave her the same smile.

Ishizu smiled back as she reached up and removed the Torc. Without it she looked oddly vulnerable. Marik realized he had no memories of her that did not include the Torc though he knew she had not worn it before she had reach a certain age. She stared down at it, her thumb rubbing over the surface of the Eye, then she quickly knelt and inserted the Torc into its spot on the tablet.

On the other side of the elf, Yugi did the same; giving the Puzzle a little pat and a smile before straightening and taking a step back.

Once that was done and the tablet was complete, Ciorstag looked at Ishizu. She gave Pharaoh a concerned look before looking back at Ciorstag.

"Pharaoh is—"

"Right where he is was always meant to be." Ciorstag sighed. "I never intended for him to be locked forever in the Shadow Realms with Zorc. I made a mistake that I was unable to fix until now. For that I ask for your forgiveness as it was not just Pharaoh who has suffered from my mistake." She nodded at the tablet. "Complete your duty, priestess; it is time."

Ishizu drew in a deep breath then bowed to the elf and stepped up to the tablet. Raising her arms, Ishizu began to chant, quietly at first then with force and conviction. Marik was not the only one to take a step back as the Items began to glow.

Directly behind Ishizu, Ciorstag braced her staff firmly against the stone floor and began to chant a counter harmony to Ishizu's spell. The Items shimmered and twisted within the impressions they had been place. The magic grew thick enough in the sacred Chamber that Marik had trouble breathing. Heat radiated from the tablet as each Items liquefied into brilliant glowing masses. Marik thought he heard something dark and evil screaming, thought he could feel that scream hammering against every bone of his body as the now liquid Items began to spread out and cover the tablet, then Ciorstag raised her staff and Ishizu raised her arms and both women cried out the last word of their spells and brought their arms down in a final defiant gesture.

There was a blinding flash of light and a crack of thunder that momentarily deafened Marik. When his vision cleared Marik found that the surface of the tablet was now smooth; there was no sign that it had ever held the Millennium Items. In front of the tablet Ishizu swayed. Before Marik or Rishid could move to her side, the Celtic Guardian was there helping her down to a sitting position. There was a serene smile on her face.

The Mystical Elf did not look quite as happy as Marik's sister did. She looked as if she were fighting off a migraine; her eyes half closed and a scowl on her face. The Celtic Guardian gave her an amused look.

"Ciorstag?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you all right?"

She gave him a look. He breathed out a laugh and looked down at Ishizu. She looked up. "I am…" she started to say then she gave him a giddy laugh.

"Yes I see that," he said.

Marik walked over to his sister then dropped down beside her. She threw her arms around him and gave him a tight happy hug. Marik was unprepared for that and sat there frozen in place until the Celtic Guardian leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I believe the proper response here would be to hug her back, Tomb Keeper."

Marik did just that.

* * *

Yugi watched Marik hug his sister. He felt as giddy as Ishizu seemed to be. When the spell Ciorstag and Ishizu had cast reached its crescendo and light had filled the chamber, a weight Yugi had been unaware of lifted from his shoulders. Yugi was a little afraid to move just in case he floated away; that's how light he felt right now.

"So are we done now?" Seto suddenly said. "I've got places to be."

Yugi stepped away from the tall duelist when he caught sight of the narrow-eyed glare Ciorstag gave him. There was a smile on Atemu's face as he stepped over to the Ishtars as they rose to their feet.

"If there's anything you need…" he said. Marik glanced at his sister then shook his head.

"Thank you but no. It's time for us to find our own way."

"And how are you planning on doing that?" Seto asked with a skeptical tone in his voice.

"Legally," Marik answered, not taking any offence at what Seto was implying.

"With the knowledge that our family has carried over the last five thousand years year," Ishizu said, "it will not take long for us to become a…" she paused then laughed, "hot commodity among historians and archeologists. I do not envision any problems."

"If we do happen to have some though," Marik said with a wolfish grin at Kaiba, "we'll be sure to call you, Seto."

Kaiba stiffened and opened his mouth to say something sarcastic Yugi guessed but he backed down when he caught the look Atemu was giving him and simply snarled, "Fine," instead.

As the Ishtars left, Atemu turned to Ciorstag and asked as he casually slipped an arm around Seto's waist, "May I asked a question?"

"One, and one only," she said.

"Who was the woman with Ammit? She was an elf from what I could see but I did not recognize her."

"The Danu," Ciorstag answered. "Her story is long and complicated and very much tied to yours; and it is a story that will wait for another day to be told. You don't need all your questions answered right here and now. There will be plenty of time later for that." She made a sweeping gesture. "Now off with all of you; I need a few days worth of sleep to recover from that last spell and all you two are doing is keeping me awake and giving me a headache with all this talk."

"It is good to know that some things will never chance, is it not, Ciorstag?" Mahado asked. Yugi watched both Seto and Ciorstag give the magician annoyed looks.

Atemu laughed. Yugi grinned as his partner's happiness floated across the link between them. Before those feelings could bring him to laughter though, the emotion was tempered when Atemu asked, "But what of you, Mahado?" Looking at the cooling slag of stone that had held the Millennium Items, Atemu swallowed once before continuing.

"The old bonds are gone and—"

Yugi knew, somehow, that Atemu's next words would have been 'you are free now' but Mahado interrupted him before the words could be uttered.

"Yes they are and the bonds that tied us together will be reforged into something new, just as the bond between you and your partner have been." Mahado glanced at Yugi and smiled. Yugi smiled back.

Atemu did not smile. "But—"

This time it was Ciorstag who interrupted. "But, your priest has a student he needs to get back to before she rips a hole in time and space trying to find out how things have turned out. It is time for him to leave." The elf snagged Mahado by the collar and made a gesture with her staff at the wall to the right of the sealed doors behind them. A new doorway appeared and she started pulling Mahado towards it. "And one word of complaint from you, Mahado," she said, "and I will simply knock you out and drag you through that Crosspoint."

Mahado grinned back at Atemu then disappeared through the new door after Ciorstag. Gaighdon chuckled as he stopped at the door and turned towards them.

"I am sure we will meet again soon." He looked at Seto. "Atemu will need time to acclimate to his new body. I suggest that he gets at least a day of rest before he does anything strenuous."

Seto crossed his arms and nodded his head and though he gave the elf a serious look, he also appeared to be a bit put out by Gaighdon's suggestion. Yugi hoped he wouldn't have to get involved in getting Atemu to rest. He blushed as echoes through the bond made it clear what strenuous activity Atemu wanted to do with Seto.

"I'll be sure to knock him out and tie him to the bed if I have to," Seto said without looking at Atemu.

"You will do no such thing," Atemu stated as he shifted and let go of Seto. Yugi slapped a hand to his face when it became clear that Seto's current attitude was only encouraging Atemu's dirty thoughts.

Peaking through his fingers, Yugi watched Seto narrowing his eyes. "Then get your ass moving, _Pharaoh_ ," he said.

The two glared at each other then Mokuba threw his arms up. "Oh, I am so outta here," he said as he walked away. He shouted back over his shoulder, "I call shotgun. And I'll make sure the dividing window is up and sealed before you get there, big brother!"

Seto raised his gaze up to the ceiling and gritted his teeth. Atemu grinned at Yugi then turned back to Gaighdon.

Gaighdon nodded his head. "Pharaoh."

Atemu returned the nod. "Ard Righ." The elf took a single step and was gone; the door disappearing from view as soon as he was through it. Atemu stared at the spot for a rew seconds then turned to look up at Seto. There was a smirk on the taller duelist's face. An answering smirk quickly spread across Atemu's face.

"I'll be with Mokuba in the front seat," Yugi said as he made his own exit, his hand still covering his face.

At the foot of the stairs, Yugi paused and glanced back. Atemu and Seto were still facing one another but the smirks were gone; they had faded into something softer and more intimate. Yugi was sure Seto would deny with his dying breath that such a look ever existed on his face but there it was nonetheless.

Yugi smiled and turned away as Atemu and Seto leaned towards one another and kissed.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer- Yu-Gi-Oh is the property of Kazuki Takahashi. Ciorstag and Gaighdon's backstory belongs to the author. This was written for entertainment purposes only and no profit is being made from it.


End file.
